Sustainability & Green Building

The popular Green Banter & Beer event returns to the International Builders’ Show this year. Join us at the High Performance Building Zone for “Young Professionals – You Can Go Your OWN Way,” featuring a five-person panel of young professionals who will share their experiences in forging their own paths in the construction industry.

Code development runs on a three-year cycle, meaning that work on the 2021 edition of the ICC started in 2018 with the Group A sections of the code. Group B sections of the code will begin development in 2019, headlined by the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a model code adopted by states and municipal governments nationwide to establish minimum energy efficiency requirements.

Craig Havenner recognizes the benefits of building to the National Green Building Standard. As president of Christopher Companies in Northern Virginia, Havenner has built more than 450 units to the NGBS, and two more of his properties under development are on their way to meeting the standard.

NAHB has partnered with the Department of Construction Science at Texas A&M University and the University of Oklahoma Construction Science Program to create lesson plans that building professionals can use to encourage interest in construction careers at the middle school level.

Today marks the third annual Energy Efficiency Day, a celebration in which a burgeoning network of advocates, companies, government agencies, utilities and others will showcase the benefits of energy efficiency. For NAHB green builders, it is a great way to celebrate the growing popularity of energy-efficient home construction.

The draft of the 2020 edition of the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) is now open for comment. Builders, remodelers, code officials – in fact, all members of the public – are invited to take a look at the proposed changes to the standard and submit their opinions. The deadline is Nov. 12.

Committed to reducing the carbon footprint of its month-long home show, the HBA collected the cans and bottles from the event, which totaled 8,712 recyclables filling up 132 bags. The association then converted its bounty of bottles and cans into over $800 of cash and donated this money to the local non-profit organization.

The National Green Building Standard Certification Program has reached an important milestone with the certification of the 150,000th home to meet its requirements – and there are an additional 120,000 projects in the pipeline.